WITHOUT CHRIST WE ARE NOTHING:
Jesus´ teaching on the vine branches, the vine, and the vinedresser is a fundamental reality of our human and spiritual that without Him we are nothing. The life of vine branches (us), the vine (Christ Jesus) and its dresser (God) is one of total dependence in a healthy manner to bear abundant fruits!
If we are nothing and can do nothing with Christ. Then, our lives and existence should be abiding in Christ through whom we live, move, and exist. What does it mean to abide in Christ Jesus?
ABIDING IN CHRIST
The first and most basic characteristic of the early Christians and Christian community is abiding in Christ by a spirit-filled life. Their actions, words, and thoughts were guided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Hence, their testimony to Christ was alive, active, and meaningful because of their abiding in Christ.
A spirit-filled life is a life of docility oriented, guided, and directed by every living presence of God: through the Holy Spirit in Christ. These early Christian communities were crucial to the spread of the gospel of Christ because of their docility to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
One principal element of this Christian community was that there were fewer human errors despite the fact it was a turbulent time. This sound doctrinal teaching is because the apostles and disciples abandoned themselves to the Spirit of God rather than relying on themselves.
The challenge to Christians and the Christian community today is to lessen the human element dominating our witnessing to Christ. This error-free Christian life can only be achieved when we learn to abide in Christ. Hence, abiding in Christ means living a spirit-filled life full of authentic testimony to the Risen Christ among men and women.
In this way too, our liturgical, doctrinal, theological, and biblical discussions will be less in wordiness and humanness and more efficient, effective, and meaningful. The call is to abide in Christ and rely less on our wisdom and intelligence.
LIBERMANN´S GOD IS ALL AND MAN IS NOTHING
Francis Libermann, the co-founder of my congregation the Spiritans Missionaries has this to say on his dying bed; ¨Be fervent, always fervent, and above all, charity, charity, charity above all. Charity in Jesus Christ, charity through Jesus Christ, charity in the name of Jesus Christ…. God is all; man is nothing.¨
The readings of this Sunday invite us to the reality that: God is all and without Him we are nothing, we cannot do anything or become something. Our life, who we are, what we do, and become in all in Christ Jesus.
OUR THEME
The readings of this Sunday present us with a profound reality that the Christian life is wholly and anchored in Christ and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. In other words, without Christ and the assistance of the Holy Spirit life: human and Christian are nothing. The readings of today are all about abiding in Christ without whom we are nothing.
A spirit-filled life driven by God, the Father in his Son Jesus Christ through the loving action of the Holy Spirit is the Christians’ testimony to the gospel. In addition, this spirit-filled life is the life of love in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit: the Spirit of God.
The Christian life devoid of the abiding in Christ and the Holy Spirit is the life without commitment to authentic love and witness. It is also a life dominated by avoidable human errors that lead to division, rancour, bitterness, envy, jealousy, and defamation in Christian communities at all levels.
Finally, the Christians and the Christian community’s ability to bear witness and produce fruits of holiness, goodness, mercy, charity, and virtuousness in abundance are also their ability to abide in Christ. As well as to live a Spirit-filled life through the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. That is a Christian life under the leadership of the Holy Spirit: the New Advocate, Paraclete, Consoler, and Guidance.
THE FIRST READING: ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 9:26-31
During the violent persecution of the early Christian community spearheaded by Saul, a zealous Jewish young man. The Christians and the Christian community lived under terrible horror: physically, psychologically, emotionally, and mentally.
Hence, it was difficult for them to accept their persecutor now one of them with openness and warmness. They were hesitant due to fear, distrust, and disbelief that Paul then Saul had accepted their faith in Christ Jesus. This reaction and feelings of the early Christians were normal, natural, and human as well.
Therefore, the apostles and the Christian community needed to get to know Saul and his experience on the road to Damascus. Thanks to abiding Christ ever-present in their midst in the Holy Spirit. The Courageous disciples like Barnabas (the son’s encouragement) living up to his name helped the integration process of Saul into the Christian community.
Amidst the gravest suspicion of Saul, three things come to mind as to why the Christian community should accept him: (1) Stephen’s prayer for his persecutors including Saul. “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Acts 7:60. (2) Ananias as an instrument of God´s forgiveness to Saul and his baptism into the new faith. (Acts 9:10-18) and Barnabas´ charity and courage to trust in Saul´s conversion and present him to the Christian community. (Acts 9:27).
BARNABAS’ INTEGRITY
Beautifully, we learn much from Barnabas´ character as a true Christian man whom we should imitate:
a. He was a man who insisted on believing in the best of others. When others suspected Paul of being a spy, Barnabas insisted on believing that he was genuine.
b. He was a man who never held anyone’s past against him. It is so often the case that because a man once made a mistake, he is forever condemned and reminded of that mistake.
Saul´s conversion brought great relief and peace to the Christians and the Christian communities in Jerusalem and Judea. However, it also brought a zealous, vibrant, and courageous soul to the devastating Christian communities by his persecution. Even though, this turns the hand of time against him, as he the persecutor became the persecuted one due to his bold and fearless testimony to Christ as Lord and Saviour.
OUR LESSON FROM SAUL´S INTEGRATION IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY.
The biggest lesson for Christians today is how conscious are we to integrate newcomers or fallen members into groups, organizations, or the larger Church community despite their past notoriety? Do we discriminate and judge them by their past or do we gladly and joyously welcome them into the new life they found in Christ?
How comfortable are new members or fallen members of our parish integrating or reintegrating with us the older members? How openhanded, warm, and welcoming are the parish groups and pious societies when it comes to integrating new members, fallen members, or interested persons in their midst?
Notably, many people would like to be members of our parish community, parish groups, and pious societies but are scared or have cold feet approaching to integrate into them. Either, it is because of their past, fear of rejection, or not fitting in due to cliques we form among us.
In today´s Psalm 22, the psalmist encourages us to praise and worship God in the community of the faithful. When he affirms “I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.” This firmly buttresses that the Christian and the Christian community are solidly established in the Lord. They must and should abide in Christ at all times and in every condition.
SECOND READING – 1 JOHN 3:18-24
The apostle and evangelist John conscious of the abiding presence of Christ in the Christian communities encouraged them the two most fundamental commandments of God. That is, first is for them to believe in the name of Jesus Christ and second to love one another. This is a summary of the Christian life and its testimony to Christ in the world.
Of course, when he affirms belief in Jesus’s name, it means in the person of Jesus Christ. That is his whole nature and character as a person. This implies a firm faith in Christ: the Lord and Saviour of the World.
For John, the Christian life reveals the children of God. That is, how Christians should put their faith in Christ into living and concrete action in their relationship with their brothers and sisters. Though John is a mystic, his testimony to faith and the Christian life is one of the practical steps in Christianity.
He is known to challenge Christians into living a concrete live-love experience or love in action with their brothers and sisters. “God is love,” 1 John 4:8, and “whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.” 1 John 4:20. Today, he challenges us: “Let us love not in word or speech but deed and truth.” 1 John 3:18
In essence, fine words will never take the place of fine deeds; and no amount of talk of Christian love will theologically, biblically, or spiritually take the place of kindly action to a man in need. Empathy involving some concrete actions of self-sacrifice is more practical and needs beautiful emotional thoughts and words.
IN SUMMARY, WE CAN AFFIRM THESE CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:
1. The great truth that the Christian life depends on is the right belief and conduct. We cannot have one without the other.
2. There can be no such thing as a Christian theology without a Christian ethic, and equally there can be no such thing as a Christian ethic without Christian theology.
3. Our belief is not real belief unless it issue in action, and our action has neither sanction nor dynamic unless it is based on belief.
4. We cannot begin the Christian life until we accept Jesus Christ for what he is, and we have not accepted him in any real sense of the term until our attitude toward men is the same as his attitude of love.
The greatest challenge is that no matter the Christian life we claim to live in sacrifices of ourselves, candles, flowers, or offerings we make in worship, preaching, and teaching. If they are not with a concrete belief in Christ as Lord and Saviour that leads us to concrete action of love toward our brothers and sisters. It is a mere sentimental life devoid of deeds and the truth.
THE GOSPEL: JOHN 15:1-8
The biblical imagery painted in the gospel of today as Christ is the vine, God the Father: the vinedresser, and we as the branches pruned in Christ Jesus to bear fruits in abundance. This points to one simple reality without Christ, the Christian life is fruitless. The central theme of the gospel passage is abiding in Christ.
By extension, we can also conclude that without God and Christ, not only the Christian life but also our human existence is meaningless. It is fruitless, hopeless, and absolute absurdity. It means that it is only in abiding in Christ Jesus, our Risen Lord and Saviour that there is hope and assurance of salvation for us.
THIS IS WHAT ABIDING IN CHRIST MEANS
i. Abiding in Christ means something like keeping contact with him through prayer in quiet or busy times of life even if for a brief moment. The secret of Jesus’s life was his contact with God; frequently, he withdrew into a solitary place to meet him. Jesus.
ii. For some of us, abiding in Christ will be a mystical experience that is beyond words to express in silence meditation or contemplation in his presence.
iii. Our constant reading of the Holy Bible could also be our one way of abiding in Christ. Where we allow the Word of God to permeate our lives and bring forth its fruits in our belief in Christ and loving actions toward others.
iv. Finally, our abiding in Christ brings about two excellent qualities in us as Christians-
a. First, it enriches the Christian own life and his or her contact make Christ makes him or her a fruitful branch.
b. He or she brings glory to God; the sight of his or her life turns men’s thoughts to the God who made him make a big difference in the Christian world of hypocrisy and falsehood-
God is glorified when we bear much fruit and show ourselves to be disciples of Jesus. The greatest glory of the Christian life is that by our life and conduct, we can bring glory to God. Even when this entails deep sacrifices and discipline from us (the pruning process from God).
OUR MESSAGES TODAY
1. Christ invites us to be grafted in him, if we must remain alive, meaningful, fruitful, and plentiful in grace, good works and bear testimony.
2. The simple is without Him we cannot be, have meaning or purpose, achieve anything, or do something graceful and worthwhile.
3. Truthfully, outside God we are nothing and can do nothing. If, in life, business, family, marriage, studies, work, relationships, Christian life, Church, and pastoral ministry, we struggle with untold difficulties. It is because we do all these not grafted on Christ as branches.
4. The Christian life is a total dependence on divine grace, mercy, and providence.
5. Our crises, brokenness, dashed hopes, shattered dreams, lost health, broken relationships, and challenges are moments of God pruning and trimming us to bear abundant fruits.
6. It is a divine reassurance of God’s providence and supply amidst crises and difficulties of life.
Candidly, let us pray today, that we can accept the pruning of God in our lives as the only way to bear more fruits in our Christian living.
OUR PRAYER THIS WEEK
Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Vine, your Father is the Vinedresser and we are the branches unless we abide in you we cannot be or do anything. Help us know and understand that abiding in Christ means an intimate relationship and not just a superficial acquaintance. And may your Father´s pruning of us, even sometimes against our wishes and desires make us bear abundant fruits. Amen
